


The Real Big Deal

by DesertVixen



Category: Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
Genre: F/M, How They Get to the End, Mid-Canon, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 00:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16230566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: Angela and Denton reconnect





	The Real Big Deal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gwenfrankenstien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwenfrankenstien/gifts).



Angela told herself it was ridiculous to be nervous about something that was no big deal.

It was simply lunch on a Friday afternoon, a chance to catch up with someone she hadn’t seen in a long time. Of course, the last time she had seen him, she was returning his engagement ring.

Lunch with her ex-fiance. Still not a big deal. After all, he was a doctor, and she was a medical student. It was a good opportunity to network, to learn a little about what was in store for her.

In fact, she hadn’t even mentioned the lunch to Sydelle, or her sister. She had definitely not mentioned it to her mother. That would have made it a big deal. 

Angela was really looking forward to it. At least now she would be able to have an intelligent conversation with Denton, one that didn’t revolve around how many hand towels she had monogrammed. 

If anyone had asked where she was going, Angela wouldn’t have hesitated to tell them.

It simply wasn’t a big deal.

*** 

They met at a Chinese restaurant near the hospital and college, one that seemed to be almost entirely , patronized by medical personnel. The lunch buffet was decently priced and had a wide variety, the booths comfortable and worn. Angela had been here plenty of times, but she had never seen him. 

Or maybe she had, Angela thought as she examined the potstickers on the buffet. She just hadn’t recognized him. He looked very different from the fresh-faced intern she’d known. It wasn’t just the moustache, but the faint lines around his eyes added character. He was confident and sure of himself, and Angela thought the years had been good to him.

The conversation was easier than she had imagined, because his polite question about how school was going for her led to him sharing some of his school stories, then to talking about some of his patients – no names, of course, but she didn’t need the names. The way he talked about his patients made Angela see them in her head. They were people and individuals to him, not just cases.

“Why neurology?” Angela was finally able to ask, after they came back from a second trip to the buffet.

“Chris, actually.” He grinned, thinking of his partner in the Westing Game. “It was when I was looking into his issue that I just got fascinated. The doctor who started him on the new medication just made everything so interesting, I had to know more.”

“It really changed things for Chris,” Angela said, thinking of the young man who was still wheelchair-bound, but no longer trapped in his own body. 

“Chris changed things for me,” Denton said quietly. “Sometimes I think that crazy game was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“It changed everything,” Angela said simply.

After lunch he took her on a tour of the neurology ward, and she enjoyed watching him interact with his patients. In fact, she was enjoying just watching him.

So much so that she said yes when he asked if she was free on Saturday night.

*** 

She still didn’t mention it to anyone. That would have made it a big deal. 

It was a good weekend to not be noticed. Her mother had gone up to Madison to spend the weekend with Jake Wexler, and her sister Turtle – or T.R. as she liked to be called now – was nowhere to be seen. There was no one to notice her fussing with her hair or comment on her outfit, and Angela didn’t want to think about why she’d changed three times.

He had offered to pick her up, but Angela had declined. The restaurant he had suggested was close enough that she could take a cab for a reasonable price. She had learned when she had ventured back into the dating world that it was always a good idea to have an escape plan.

Not that this was a date.

When she caught herself checking her makeup in the cab for the third time, Angela gave up pretending. 

This was definitely a date. 

He was already there when she arrived, and the sight of him in the shirt and tie made her glad she’d fussed with her outfit.

She had eaten there a few times before, generally with Sydelle. The Italian restaurant was the size of a postage stamp, but the food was incredible. She had never been there at night, however, and was surprised at how different the atmosphere was, with candles on the table and romance in the air.

The waiter showed them to a table, and Denton pulled her chair out for her – one of those details he had rarely bothered with when they had been engaged. He took his own seat, and for a few minutes they were busy with menus and decisions. When the waiter had withdrawn, Denton reached across and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. She had never realized before how strong and sensitive his hands were, how skilled they must be in his chosen specialty. 

They chatted lightly, but all Angela could think about was the pressure of his hand on hers. When their food arrived, and he slid his hand away from hers, she felt a little pang.

They decided to split a panna cotta, one of the restaurant’s specialties. It came out topped with sliced strawberries and sauce, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world when he offered her the first spoonful.

“That’s incredible,” she murmured. 

He took a bite himself. “It certainly is.”

He was looking at her intently, and Angela felt a slight flush rising on her cheeks. Then his gaze shifted, and she wondered what was so interesting. 

“Looks like we’re not the only heirs enjoying Italian food tonight,” he said softly. “Have a look behind you, to the left.”

Angela turned and saw Theo Theodorakis and her sister sliding into one of the cozy side-by-side booths, completely absorbed in their conversation. There was no question that they were on a date. She turned back quickly, hoping that they hadn’t seen her and Denton. That would have been a little strange.

It would have been a big deal.

They finished their dessert and Denton paid the check.

“Let me drive you home,” he said.

Angela nodded, and they started walking towards the public parking lot. It seemed totally natural for her to take his hand as they walked, neither one of them in a hurry. She did laugh when she saw the gleaming black sports car.

He grinned. “It’s my one indulgence,” he told her as he opened her door. “Now that all my student loans are paid off.”

It was an indulgence Angela approved of. The leather interior was butter-soft and luxurious, and she wished the drive was a little longer so that the evening didn’t have to end. When they pulled up at Sunset Towers, he killed the engine, got out to open her door.

“I had a really good time,” he said quietly. “Is it too much to hope we can do it again?”

“I’d like that,” Angela said, suddenly feeling shy, feeling like all of this was a big deal.

They stood there for a moment in silence, until he reached out to touch her cheek, until she stepped closer.

He kissed her, intending just a quick kiss, no pressure. Then she was kissing him back, sliding her hands around his neck. When they stepped apart, she gave him a dreamy smile.

“What about dinner on Tuesday? I’m on call tomorrow.” 

The life of a doctor, she thought. Her life one day. “I’d like that.”

He kissed her again, then walked her to the door, where a doorman who didn’t know him from Adam was on duty.

“Call me?” Angela was surprised at how normal her voice sounded in light of how her heart was pounding.

He nodded, lifted her hand to his lips. “Good night, Angela.”

“Good night, Denton.”

She walked inside and got in the elevator.

It had been a big deal.

More importantly, maybe this time it would be the right deal.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it! I wanted to explore how these two get back together without Angela sacrificing her agency.


End file.
